Our water, our rivers: Privatisation's biggest scandal

In 2022 the authoritative, pro-business Financial Times wrote that "It's time to admit that water privatisation has been a failure", while the respected British Medical Journal called for renationalisation of water companies because of the dangers they pose to health. Since then, these companies have continued to pay obscene profits to their shareholders, not invested properly in repairs and infrastructure, and raised their prices as high as possible – all while pouring sewage into our rivers.

OFWAT, the largely ineffective regulator, has allowed the companies to increase prices by up to 40%, and borrow billions to pay big dividends then pass the cost on to customers. The Competition and Markets Authority has estimated that £5 in every £25 on your water bill goes towards paying shareholders and the cost of the companies' debt mountain.

Ten Tory Environment Ministers in 13 years, including Liz Truss and Suffolk Coastal MP Thérèse Coffey, have done absolutely nothing to stop this scandal.

Water is vital for life and health, but you can't shop around for what comes out of your tap. The water companies are greedy private monopolies, 70% foreign-owned, some based in tax havens. The case for taking them back into public ownership is obvious. That is why they and right-wing think tanks are mounting a campaign on the internet, social media and in Tory-supporting newspapers, with scare stories about higher bills if water is re-nationalised.

Ignore them. Look instead at the example of Scotland, where publicly-owned Scottish Water provides households with high-quality water at prices below the average of every private water company in England and Wales.

The Green Party would bring water in England and Wales back into public hands as soon as possible.